Embossibilities!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you this fine Monday? I hope you had a nice weekend! I can tell a lot of you are on holiday this month because I can hear the crickets in the evening and normally the crafty chatter drowns them out. Wherever you are, have fun making memories!

For the rest of us, I have a few embossed designs to share with you for the third week of the I.D.E.A.S. schedule.

Onefer

This is an example of double-embossing. First, I used a regular (unmarked) embossing folder and then I ran that embossed panel through a second time using a 3D embossing folder. The NBUS 3D folder used here is "Leaf Bundle" from Simon Says. You might be able to see that Hammy and Stanley used a few of the leaves as scratching posts which left a bit of a distressed look here and there. 

The beautiful Memory Box "Serene Bird" was cut using patterned paper. A gold-embossed sediment from Memory Box and gold bling finished the QACAS design.

Twofer

The embossing folder featured in this design is from Park Lane (Michael's) called, "Holly Berry." Stanley tried his luck at using a red pogo stick to highlight the berries! (Even Hammy had to admit that the youngster has agility and good eyesight on his side!) 

Using a NBUS die from Spellbinders called, "Stylish Merry Christmas," I used the cut-out letters only for the bold sediment. I backed it with a candy cane striped vellum and then attached it to a card base.

Threefer

This design features a NBUS evergreen embossing folder from Simon Says called, "Delicate Pine Branches." For this card, I thought the debossed side of the branches looked more interesting. 

I used the other portion of the "Stylish Merry Christmas" die, so you can see what the whole die looks like. This time, I cut it from a panel in my stash that was made by spritzing ink over an evergreen stencil. I left out the inside letters of the words. Next, I stamped off an evergreen stamp and stamped it lightly here and there over the panel. I lost the little paper piece that fit inside the R, so the lads searched through my bling and found a beautiful aquamarine bead.

~~~

Sturgeon Full Moon Tonight!

Tonight's full moon is known as the "Sturgeon Moon" because sturgeon fish were once abundant in August in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain region, according to the Almanac. The prehistoric-looking fish are thought to have existed around 200 million years ago. Today there are sturgeon farms all around the world, raising sturgeon in tanks for their prized caviar.

Other names for the Sturgeon Moon are "Dispute Moon," "Lynx Moon," "Lightning Moon," and "Grain Moon." 

I'm not sure how that happens. The names seem so random and why are there so many? I picture a group of Almanac executives who hold their annual August conference in Tampa Bay. After dinner and a few too many tiddlies, they sit around the club house pool gazing up at the full moon and tossing around ideas for the next Almanac edition. "Goose!" "Ambush!" "Upholstery!"

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! 

*Life is too short!

Challenges:

Can You Handle the Pressure? A/G E/F 

Cardz 4 Galz: Birds

Triple B: Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms

Word Power: Focal sentiment

Anything Fruity Goes and a Tribute

Hello Stamplings!

I hope this finds you in your happy place! After I finish this post, I'm going to try a new recipe for sour cream blueberry muffins. I'm needing some comfort food. And maybe a tipple.

Onefer

This is the fourth Monday of July, so it is A = Anything Goes on the I.D.E.A.S. board. Over at Seize the Birthday, my friend Colleen is the hostess and she has chosen fruits. Given that Colleen had a lot to do with the fruits used in my cards today (thanks, Col), I couldn't not play along! The NBUS stamps, dies, and stencils are from, "Pears and Pomegranates" by Pink Fresh. The e/f is from Cuttlebug.

Twofer

Of course, I had to make two of them!

In Tribute

Some of you may have heard that our little corner of Blogland suddenly lost a dear friend on July 18, 2024. Her name was Anne Redfern and her blog was called Redanne. She was hugely talented with her craft supplies and her needle and she especially loved mixed media, all things Tim Holtz (including Tim and Mario), and making unbelievable miniature works of art.

More than that, Anne was a close friend to many of you and to me. She let me call her Annie and we first became acquainted on February 22, 2012, when she stopped by my desk on, "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday" and left me a kind comment. Many thousands of comments followed, as well as emails, gifts, cards, and Zooms.

I was star-struck and delighted to have the chance to meet Annie in person in 2015 and spend two days with her and David when I traveled to England. I happened to have a free day at that point and they delighted me with an unexpected car trip over to Conwy, Wales!

I so enjoyed seeing Annie and David's community, their home, and especially Annie's craft room and creations. She even spoiled me with a delicious homemade meal! Just look at that beaming smile!

By the way, Annie would hate that bit about me being star-struck! Her smile and her kind eyes reflect the humble and gentle soul that she was, always ready to encourage and inspire others, never complaining, and incredibly generous.

You may remember that earlier this year I featured Annie on my blog when I introduced you to little Stanley:

Annie's most recent adventure in crafting was felting, which she enjoyed in spite of the pain in her hands and fingers and she felted Stanley and the top of the sweet round box she used to mail him to me from across the pond. 

I will always cherish many happy memories of Annie and I'm so grateful for our close friendship and for all the good times we shared because of this hobby.

Rest in peace, my friend, free of pain. I miss you already.

~~

Life is short. Too short. Please enjoy yours and thank you for spending part of yours with me! 

Challenges:

Seize the Birthday: Fruits

Can You Handle the Pressure? A/G Embossing Folders

Just Us Girls: Mood Board. My card has pears instead of pineapples, but the colors inspired me.

p.s. Yum.

Emgoldened!

Hello Stamplings!

And good Monday morning to you! Or whatever time of day or night you are popping by. Beverages on the bar along the back wall and I'm thinking I'll plug in the mini-waffle iron and make a few snackies.

If you are following along with my Monday schedule or just my weekly Monday posts, you'll know I'm featuring E=mbossing today. And who doesn't like a little added gold?

Onefer

This NBUS rose embossing folder is from Sizzix. I spread gold ink on the debossed side of the folder and ran it through my Gemini. Then I added diluted gold ink to the raised areas of the roses and leaves and Hammy and Stanley, freshly back from camp, went nuts with the gold schplattering.

The stitched rectangle dies are from MFT and the die sediment is from Memory Box.

Twofer

This card features an embossing folder which I first used a couple of months ago. It's called, "Gracious Leaves," from Open Studio and it strikes me as Christmassy. For the front smaller panel, I did the same technique of rubbing gold ink on the debossed side and then I painted the leaves and berries with diluted gold ink.

I added the stitched frame and the joy sediment from Memory Box, both cut from gold. To add a further touch of eleganzia framing, Hammy rubbed gold ink all around the front edge of the card. 

~~~

The power of words ~

~~~

Enjoy your week! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower!

*Life is too short!

Challenges:

Alphabet: H is for Holidays

Can You Handle the Pressure? A/G

Christmas Kickstart: Festive Frames

Jingle Belles: My Sweet Emboss-able You

May Week Three: Embossing

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well at whatever you are doing well. I checked and today is "National May Ray Day." Huh? Are there that many people named, "Ray?" No, it's quite poetic actually. It means, "to celebrate the bright sunshine and warmer weather with just a slight breeze to cool your skin."

It's also National Devil's Food Cake Day, so have a slice of that while the breeze is cooling you off! And it's the third Monday of May at the Playhouse, so today we are celebrating embossing. In this case, folders.

Onefer

A month ago you may remember that I played with this 3D embossing folder from Altenew, called "Daisy Bed." This time I did a simple ink swipe on the debossed side before running it through my Gemini. It was too pretty to cover, so I simply added a circle sediment from Memory Box.

Twofer

Recently my friend Julia posted a very amusing piglet card and I mentioned how much I love pigs (having grown up in Iowa) and how much I especially loved the snarky sediments that came with the pig stamp set she used. ("Piggies Crushed It" from Whimsy Stamps.) After wards, she kindly stamped off oodles of piggies and sediments and mailed them to me. Thank you, Julia!

Hammy and Stanley will be disappointed that you can't see the schparkle. Hammy winked the balloon and gave the pig job to Stan. There were lots of tears at first because the winker Stanley used had gone a bit silver-looking. Not his fault, of course, and I reassured him that it was okay because it made the little pig look dirty. I mean, what kind of pig are you, if you don't wear a bit of dirt?!

Threefer

From the silly to the sublime, I next inked up a NBUS 3D folder from Open Studio called "Gracious Leaves" using Brilliance Elegant Gold. The ribbon is from SU and the sediment is from Memory Box.

I'm not sure it's meant to be a Christmas e/f, but the little berries made me think it was. The color and sheen are very pretty in real life, but if I'm Frank, when it was finished I thought to myself that it would have been easier to just spray the card with gold mist.

~~~

Speaking of Devil's Food cake, I was curious how this cake recipe got its name. To figure that out, I had to go back to the very origin of store-bought cake mix. It turns out that in 1933, John Duff of P. Duff and Sons, a Pittsburgh PA molasses company, patented the first cake mix after blending dehydrated molasses with dehydrated flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients. The mix required only water and baking to yield gingerbread. 

Duff later realized that home cooks preferred to add their own eggs. After that, they expanded their mixes to include flavors like fruit cake, spice cake, and devil's food. 

In the 1930s, Americans were mostly church-going folk, so naming a cake "devil's food," might be a huge turn-off from a marketing standpoint. To quell that concern, this explanation was printed on the back of the box:

Customers have asked how this cake mix was given such an unusual name. One of our recipe tasters named Elizabeth Novick baked this unnamed cake mix for her family. As they were finishing, Betty, the youngest daughter, age 7, picked up her plate and began to lick the crumbs. "Betty!" cried Elizabeth, shooting the youngster a stern look. "But, Mom," said Betty, "this food would make even the devil sit up and say, 'Amen!'"

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! BTW, I made up that part about naming the cake, but you prolly figured that out for yourself.😆

*Life is too short!

Challenges

Onefer: Can You Handle the Pressure (A/G w/ option of flowers)

Twofer: Double D (polka dots); SSS Wednesday (patterned paper)

Threefer: Allsorts (A/G ~ Happy 15th Birthday!)

Earth Day!

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you're having a good and plenty kind of day! Who remembers Good & Plenty licorice candy? I still love them and have loved them since my childhood in the 1890s. You'd think they would be stale, but no.

Onefer

Today is Earth Day ~ Yay! Last week Serena Dipity came by to visit the Playhouse and together we made a card to celebrate her. Mother Earth, not Serena.

It all started when I was flipping through my binder of die-cut shapes. No, wait a sec. It all started a coupla weeks ago when I noticed on the calendar that Earth Day was coming up on the 22nd, so that was in my subterranean conscience. So then Serena showed up just as I turned the page in my binder and right before my eyes was the above circle die cut from an old session of dribbling alcoholic inks onto Yupo paper. I looked over at Serena, she smiled knowingly, we both looked at Hammy and Stanley and together we all yelled, "Globe!"

Then, if you can believe it, the littl'n ran over to Mt. NBUS and nosed out the arms die from Alexandra Renke. I recently got it on super sale, wondering at the time when I might ever use it. (But, you know, super sale!) Then, not to be out-done, Hammy dove into my stash of sediments and found the perfect one.

So we had the bits, now we just needed a background and that was quickly sorted when I remembered I had some ancient pieces of cloudy blue sky vellum which I embossed with a ... ta-da ... cloud e/f!

You gotta love when Serena Dipity shows up!

Twofer

Here's another nature theme with a blue green color scheme. I made this card (cough) ago, but I can't find that I ever posted it. The background was made using the dirty pour technique during one of the fun Canadian crafty sessions I attended. The beautiful seahorse is from Katzelkraft and the Lavinia ocean flora stamp was a gift from a sweet friend. Hello friend.

I.D.E.A.S.

Both of these cards (and any of yours this week!) will fit the A = Anything Goes brief of I.D.E.A.S. I'm looking forward to playing with you and 📌ing your creations!

And to close ...

With the rain we've been getting, we are seeing bulbs come up for the first time in years. First the smattering of white irises and then as they were fading, we were treated with just one regal purple bloom! Thank you, Mother Earth! Every day should be your day!

~~~

Enjoy your week! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! 

*Life is too short!
Challenges:
Onefer: Inspiration Station (photo of globe inspired me); Can You Handle the Pressure? (a/g); SSS Monday (It's up in the air).
Twofer: Addicted to Stamps and More (make your mark); Double D (water related).

April 15: E is for Embossing (Powder/Folder)

Hello Stamplings!

How's your little heart pumpin' today? My computer wants that to read: how's your little pumpkin heart today? I don't think science has figured out how to do that yet.

My heart was fine last week, but my head was in a vice.🤕 I had five consecutive days of migraines, but I've had two good days now, so whatever that was, it doesn't ever need to happen again! (And bless all of you who deal with this routinely.❤) In the between times, I turned to cards to keep my mind on something else. I have to say, having the I.D.E.A.S. schedule (see side bar) has given me focus and purpose. 

This week is all about embossing. Spring flowers are popping up here in yards and along country roads. In particular, wild California poppies are abundant because of all the rain we've had. So in tribute:

Onefer

This is a Penny Black stamp which I painted with Distress Oxides. It was my first time doing that and I like the chalky result, even after winking. If you look very closely you can see a bit of stenciling. That was young Stanley's work and I am proud of how he did and how smart Hammy was to choose one of my stencils with teeny tiny holes for Stan's first effort. I added the sediment from PTI and some soft DO blending around the edges.

And, after all that, because this is Week Three, I ran the panel through my Gemini with a Sissix 3D e/f. It's not something I would normally do, but I have to say, it gave the card a certain glow-up!

Twofer

Another poppy design, this one from PTI called Botanical Blocks III. I embossed it in platinum powder and painted it with my Ziggies before matting. The card was embossed with a Darice e/f. 

Hammy thinks I should start a new aaacronym: WBUCSI. It stands for, "winked, but you can't see it!" (I'm doing my best to start a trend of "senior speak" to make the kids try and figure out what we're saying for a change!😂)

Threefer with a Twist

I switched over from poppies to daisies:

This quick card features a NBUS 3D embossing folder from Altenew, called "Daisy Bed." The panel was matted with black and the die-cut sediment is from W&W. I painted the background with my Ziggies and then used a small bb to blend ink on the daisy centers (WBUCSI). 

The Twist

(Not my card. Read below.)

The same day I made my daisy card, I received the above beautiful daisy card in the mail from my friend Anita all the way from France! What are the chances?! The same-wave-length-coinkydink gave me goose-bumpers and I just had to share! Thank you, Anita!

~~~

Enjoy your daisylicious week! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! If you play with embossing this week, please let me know so I can visit you and pin your creation to my I.D.E.A.S. Board!

*Life is too short!

Challenges:

#1 = We Love Stamping (Spring)
#2 = The Flower Challenge (add layers); 
         Snippets Playground (The poppy panel of three layers and the sediment were all made from snippets.)
#3 = Can You Handle the Pressure (A/G); Beautiful Blossoms (Mood Board)